Garden bag

ABSTRACT

A garden bag ( 10 ) formed from a garden bag body ( 12 ) that may be a generally rectangular, self-supporting structure that is at least partially fabric covered and forming at least one inner chamber ( 14 ) is disclosed. The garden bag ( 10 ) may have sufficient rigidity to be used as a seat by a worker and to contain all of the worker&#39;s tools either inside the garden bag or within pockets ( 34 ) on the outer surfaces ( 18 ) of the garden bag body ( 12 ). The garden bag ( 10 ) may also include a knee support system ( 26 ) formed from two knee pads ( 25 ) that are coupled together and stored within a pocket ( 24 ) on an inner side ( 23 ) of an openable lid ( 22 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of bags, and moreparticularly to a multi-function bag that is useful outdoors for storingmaterials.

BACKGROUND

Bags are known to be useful for transporting a variety of items from oneplace to another. As such, bags are generally designed to be lightweightand flexible so that they can contain items having a variety of sizeswhile minimizing the weight the worker must carry during transport,

Tool belts are also known for transporting a variety of tools. However,because of the constraints of being worn on the worker's waist, toolbelts are generally limited to smaller, lighter tools and associatedhardware. In addition, the quantity and variety of tools and hardwarethat may be carried is significantly smaller than the quantity that canbe carried using a bag. Finally, tool belts are configured to carryspecific tools and it may be difficult or impossible to adapt a toolbelt to carry some tools or hardware.

Although bags and tool belts are known, there exists a need for bagsthat are more useful for carrying a broader variety of items thatprovide additional benefits to workers carrying the bags.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the invention is drawn to a garden bag that includesa garden bag body, a bottom wall, an openable lid and a knee supportsystem. The garden bag body can be generally rectangular and form atleast one inner chamber. The garden hag body can be formed from aself-supporting structure that is at least partially fabric covered. Thebottom wall can be attached to an outer perimeter of the garden bagbody. The garden bag body can form an opening opposite the bottom wall.The openable lid can be attached to the garden bag body at the openingfor closing the opening. The garden bag can also include a knee supportsystem for supporting knees of a user. The knee pad system can be formedfrom two fabric covered pads that are connected together to form asingle knee pad system.

The bottom wall can be formed from reinforced fabric. The bottom wallcan be reinforced with polyethylene.

An inner surface of the garden bag body can include a pocket containingthe knee pad system. The garden bag can include a removable strap forcontaining the knee pad system, where the removable strap is attachablevia a hook and loop connector. The pocket can be positioned on an innersurface of the openable lid.

The garden bag body and the bottom wall can be at least partiallycovered with a fabric. The garden bag body can be completely coveredwith fabric on the inner and outer surfaces. The garden bag body canalso include a plurality of pockets attached to an outer surface of thegarden bag body. The garden bag body can be formed from at least onepolyethylene board and at least one reinforcement strip positioned atintervals along the polyethylene board.

The garden bag can include a rigid handle rotatably attached to thegarden bag body for carrying the garden bag. The openable lid caninclude a zipper for removably attaching the lid to the garden bag.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent to one skilled in the art from thefollowing description and claims when read in light of the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A fuller understanding of the present invention and the features andbenefits thereof will be obtained upon review of the following detaileddescription together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a garden bag described herein.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the garden bag.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the garden bag.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the garden bag.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pocket containing a knee pad system.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the knee pad system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIGS. 1-6, the garden bag 10 is configured to provide aworker with a seat while also acting as a container for containing toolsin a readily accessible manner. The garden bag 10 may be self-supportingand formed from materials that together form a lightweight structurethat is capable of being picked up by a single worker and supporting aworkers weight as a seat.

As shown in FIG. 1, the garden bag 10 may be formed from a garden bagbody 12 formed from a self-supporting structure that is at leastpartially fabric covered and forming at least one inner chamber 14 andan upper opening 20 through which the inner chamber 14 is accessible.The fabric may be any appropriate durable fabric, such as, but notlimited to, durable fabrics sold under the names CORDURA and SUNBRELLA.The garden bag body 12 may be formed from any appropriate shape, suchas, but not limited to, generally rectangular. The garden bag body 12,in at least one embodiment, may be generally cubical. The garden bagbody 12 may have a height, width and length of between about seveninches and about fifteen inches. The garden bag body 12 may at least bepartially covered by fabric and, in at least one embodiment, may becompletely covered with fabric on the inner 16 and outer surfaces 16. Inat least one embodiment, the garden bag body 12 may be formed from arigid support member, such as, but not limited to, at least onepolyethylene board. The rigid support member may be further supported byat least one rigid support strip that may be positioned at intervalsalong the rigid support member. The rigid support strips may bepositioned generally vertically within the garden bag body 12. The rigidsupport member and the rigid support strips may be formed from one ormore rigid materials that are configured to keep the opening 20 in anopened position. The rigid support member and the rigid support stripsmay be formed from one or more rigid materials that are configured toprovide support to a person sitting on the garden bag 10 as a seat.

The garden bag 10 may include an openable lid 22 attached on one side tothe garden bag body. The openable lid 22 may have a generallyrectangular shape, and in one embodiment may be generally square. Theopenable lid 22 may be sized to be approximately equal to the shape ofthe opening 20. The lid 22 may be reinforced with materials, such as,but not limited to, a polyethylene board. The openable lid 22 mayinclude a zipper to releasably attach the lid 22 to the garden bag body12. The zipper may be any appropriate size and configuration.

The garden bag 10 may also include a pocket 24 on an inner surface 18 ofthe garden bag body 12 that is configured to contain a knee pad system26. Alternately, or in addition, the garden bag 10 may include a pocket24 on an inner surface 23 of the openable lid 22. The pocket 24 mayinclude a strap 28 for retaining the knee support system 26 within thepocket 24. The pocket 24 may be formed from a woven or non-woven fabricor other appropriate material. The strap 28 may be releasably attachedto the garden bag body 12 with any appropriate system, such as, but notlimited to, a hook and loop connector.

As shown in FIG. 6, the knee support system 26 may be formed from twofabric covered pads 25 that are connected together to form a single kneesupport system 26. Each pad 25 may be formed from one or more paddedmaterials, such as, but not limited to, foam. The one or more paddedmaterials may be present as stacked layers of material. The knee supportsystem 26 may be formed from one continuous piece of padded material orfrom multiple pieces. A bridge member 30 may connect the two knee pads25 together yet be flexible enough that the knee pads 25 may bepositioned in a relatively flat position, referred to as the usableposition, and in a stored position, in which the bridge member 30 isflexed so that the knee pads 25 touch each other. In one embodiment, theknee support system 26 may be generally rectangular in shape when theknee pad system 26 is folded such that the knee pads 25 are touchingeach other.

The garden bag 10 may also include a bottom wall 32 positioned oppositeto the opening 20. The bottom wall 32 may be formed from appropriatematerials, such as, but not limited to, fabric. The bottom wall 32 maybe flexible or rigid.

The garden bag 10 may include a plurality of pockets 34 attached to anouter surface 18 of the garden bag body 12. The pockets 34 may bepositioned such that a bottom of the pockets 34 may be positioned nearan intersection between the bottom wall 32 and the garden bag body 12and may extend upwardly with openings of the pockets 34 directedupwardly. The pockets 34 may extend from the intersection between thebottom wall 32 and the garden bag body 12 and terminate between aboutone-third and three-quarters of the height of the garden bag body 12from the intersection. The pockets 34 may extend at least a portion ofthe circumference of the garden bag body 12, and may extend around theentirety of the circumference of the garden bag body 12. The pockets 34may be formed with fabric, including solid and mesh fabrics, and may beattached via stitching, other mechanical connection means, or otherappropriate ways.

The garden bag 10 may also include a handle 36 attached to the gardenbag body 12 for carrying the garden bag 10. The handle 36 may be rigidand formed from any appropriate material such as, but not limited to,metal. The handle 36 may be rotatably attached to the garden bag 10.Bases 38 may be attached to opposing sides of the garden bag body 12.The bases 38 may be sized to sufficiently support the handle 36. Thebases 38 may be attached to the garden bag body 12 with mechanicalconnectors, such as, but not limited to, rivets. The handle 36 may alsoinclude a grip enhancing member 40 positioned around the center of thehandle to increase a users grip on the handle 36 and to protect theuser's hand. The garden bag 10 may be usable in a variety of places,such as with tradesman, gardeners and others.

The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustrating, explaining, anddescribing embodiments of this invention. Modifications and adaptationsto these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art andmay be made without departing from the scope or spirit of thisinvention.

1. A garden bag (10), comprising: a garden bag body (12) formed from aself-supporting structure that is at least partially fabric covered andforming at least one inner chamber (14), wherein the garden bag body(12) is generally rectangular; a bottom wall (32) attached to an outerperimeter of the garden bag body (12); an opening (20) formed by thegarden bag body (12) opposite to the bottom wall (32); an openable lid(22) attached to the garden bag body (12) at the opening (20) forclosing the opening (20); and a knee support system (26) for supportingknees of a user.
 2. The garden bag (10) of claim 1, wherein an innersurface (18) of the garden bag body (12) comprises a pocket (24)containing the knee pad system (26).
 3. The garden bag (10) of claim 2,further comprising a removable strap (28) for containing the knee padsystem (26) that is attachable via a hook and loop connector.
 4. Thegarden bag (10) of claim 2, wherein the knee pad system (26) is formedfrom two fabric covered pads (25) that are connected together to form asingle knee pad system (26).
 5. The garden bag (10) of claim 2, whereinthe pocket (24) is positioned on an inner surface (23) of the openablelid (22).
 6. The garden bag (10) of claim 1, wherein the garden bag body(12) and the bottom wall (32) are at least partially covered with afabric.
 7. The garden bag (10) of claim 1, wherein the garden bag body(12) is completely covered with fabric on the inner (16) and outer (18)surfaces.
 8. The garden bag (10) of claim 1, further comprising aplurality of pockets (34) attached to an outer surface (18) of thegarden bag body (12).
 9. The garden bag (10) of claim 1, wherein thegarden hag body (12) is formed from at least one polyethylene board andat least one reinforcement strip positioned at intervals along thepolyethylene board.
 10. The garden bag (10) of claim 1, furthercomprising a rigid handle (36) rotatably attached to the garden bag body(12) for carrying the garden bag (10).
 11. The garden bag (10) of claim1, wherein the bottom wall (32) is formed from reinforced fabric. 12.The garden bag (10) of claim 11, wherein the bottom wall (32) isreinforced with polyethylene.
 13. The garden bag (10) of claim 1,wherein the openable lid (22) further comprises a zipper for removablyattaching the lid (22) to the garden bag (10).